10.14.15 – (LAA/LUS) – Supporting United/Continental Flight Attendant Negotiations

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Wednesday, October 14, 2015

 

Dear Flight Attendant,

In addition to implementing and enforcing our contract, APFA is constantly looking for ways to improve it. The best and fastest way to do that is by exercising the United re-opener clause. Today in Washington, I discussed this with my counterparts at AFA-CWA, the Union representing United/Continental Flight Attendants. 

United/Continental Flight Attendants have been locked in contract negotiations for several years. In fact, the two groups still do not have a joint contract following the 2010 merger of the two airlines. The prolonged bargaining has left both workgroups – Legacy United and Legacy Continental – lagging behind their industry peers. 

During our last round of bargaining, APFA proved that the average Flight Attendant compensation was being dragged down by the contracts still in place at United and Continental. Our team also recognized that the United negotiations had no end in sight. With those facts in mind, APFA wrote an ingenious clause into the Negotiations Protocol Agreement that forces the company back to the table if and when the combined United workgroup ratifies a joint contract. 

Today, United negotiations are only slightly closer to completion. Since the most immediate way we can improve our wages is a rich joint contract for the Flight Attendants of United and Continental, APFA must do whatever possible to help our peers at AFA-CWA achieve that goal. Flight Attendants at American want and need our brothers and sisters at United and Continental to succeed. This is not just about “a rising tide lifting all boats” or the collective strength of the labor movement. Success at United directly improves our lives. 

At a meeting of the Coalition of Flight Attendant Unions in Washington this week, as one of my first acts as National President, I pledged APFA’s support of AFA-CWA’s effort. I informed my counterpart at AFA-CWA that our Union would provide any non-financial assistance we could. I shared with the Coalition the text of a resolution passed unanimously by the APFA Board just last week which pledged to publicly recognize and support the ongoing negotiations of Flight Attendants at United/Continental. 

APFA, which brings together some of our profession’s brightest and most dedicated people from the Legacy American and Legacy US Airways workgroups, has a great deal to offer our brothers and sisters at AFA-CWA and I hope they take us up on our offer in the months ahead. Whether it is the advice of one of our subject matter experts or the support of our loud and proud members at a rally in Chicago, I know APFA will be happy to help. Given the opportunity, we can bolster AFA-CWA and demonstrate to management – at United and at American – that we will not sit idly by as negotiations continue to drag on. 

Click Here to read the Board resolution.

Thank you for your support. 

In Unity, 

Marcus Gluth
APFA National President
Miami Based Flight Attendant
[email protected]